


i don't think i'd ever leave this place

by wafflesofdoom



Series: i love you a latte [2]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: 5 Times, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Established Relationship, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 22:11:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11113920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesofdoom/pseuds/wafflesofdoom
Summary: five big moments in aaron and robert’s relationship that happen at the grind.in other words, averycheesy coffee shop au sequel.





	i don't think i'd ever leave this place

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inloveamateursatbest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inloveamateursatbest/gifts).



**i. i love you**

Robert was half in love with Aaron the first time they’d slept together, so it wasn’t exactly surprising when a month into their relationship, Robert realised that he loved Aaron.

Like, head over heels, absolutely, madly in love.

He realised it one quiet morning, Aaron curled around him, hours before either of them had to get up. Aaron was working 12 to close, at the coffee shop, and he wasn’t working at the pub until lunchtime, so they were having a lazy morning in bed.

It was nice, just to get to be with Aaron. So many of their dates had been after Aaron’s shifts at the Grind, in that hour before Robert would have to go back and spend his evening serving lukewarm pints to middle-aged men, so he’d come to treasure mornings like these, quiet mornings when Aaron was snoring softly next to him, a ratty old t-shirt still on, Robert’s bright purple boxer shorts a striking contrast to his pale skin.

Aaron had turned, in his sleep, pressing himself closer to Robert’s body, his curly hair askew, all the stress and worry gone from his face, making him look so much younger than he was.

And that? That was the moment Robert had realised he was in love.

They’d been together for exactly twenty six days (not even a month) and Robert was in love.

He’d never fallen so hard, so fast for anyone in his entire life, and so he’d started to panic, as he laid next to Aaron, wondering if he was going to scare him off, if it was all going to be too much too soon.

Twenty six days wasn’t long enough to fall in love, Robert had decided, and so he didn’t tell him.

He hadn’t told him when Aaron woke up, pliant and soft with sleep, tilting his head and wordlessly asking for a proper kiss to start the morning, the action so domestic, so normal for the two of them, that it had set his heart racing.

No, he hadn’t told him then.

Robert hadn’t told him when Aaron had arrived on his doorstep the next evening, Chinese takeaway in hand, and he hadn’t told him when Aaron had willingly sat with Robert for two hours in a mostly empty pub, just to give him a bit of company, and he hadn’t told him that evening they’d gone on their first proper posh date, a three course meal in a fancy restaurant in town, Aaron donning a suit and making Robert weak at the knees.

No, Robert hadn’t told him that he loved him any of those times.

He’d been afraid to.

Robert had been afraid to push Aaron away, to lose the one thing in his life that was making him _happy_. His career was a shambles, Robert stuck in a dead end job, pulling pints and cleaning sticky tables, and he was in the midst of divorce proceedings, and he didn’t exactly have much going for him other than _Aaron_.

Aaron, his gorgeous, grumpy boyfriend, who always smelled like coffee and turned Robert’s insides to goo with a simple smile.

No, Robert couldn’t possibly risk losing that.

So he’d waited another month, itching to say those three little words more, and more with every passing day. Three months, he’d figured, would be an acceptable time to be with someone before you said that you loved them.

They’d been friends, first, and that counted in the grand scheme of things.

Three months wasn’t going to be hard, or so Robert had thought.

He got two months, and three days into his ‘don’t say I love you just yet’ plan before he blurted it out, one quiet evening in the Grind as he watched his boyfriend clean up after a busy day.

Aaron was chatting aimlessly as he cleaned down the counter, stacking paper cups and throwing away empty cartons of milk, his curls coming unstuck from the gel helmet he’d forced them into that morning, the sleeves of his thin grey long sleeved t-shirt rolled up as he worked, trying to get the cleanup routine done faster than normal.

They had tickets for the cinema, after all.

“I love you,” Robert blurted out, pausing with a chair in hand. He didn’t mind helping out, helping Aaron to stack the chairs and sweep the floor, always wanting to spend those extra few minutes with Aaron at the end of every day.

Aaron froze, cloth in hand. “You what?” he didn’t sound panicked, not really, just confused, as though he hadn’t been expecting Robert to say that, not when they were mid-conversation about cinema snacks.

“I love you,” Robert inched his way around the counter, wanting, _needing_ to be close to Aaron as he said this. “I’ve known - I’ve felt it for a while now, and I can’t not tell you anymore. I know it’s too soon, and I’ve probably scared you off -“

“Robert,” Aaron interrupted gently, setting his cloth down. “You’re babbling.”

Robert felt his cheeks flush, knowing he had been talking at a mile a minute. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I just lose my head around you, I guess.”

Aaron grinned at him, that bright, familiar smile that Robert had grown to love so much. “I love you too,” he said softly, stepping into Robert’s embrace, hands on Robert’s hips.

“You do?” Robert couldn’t help the childish excitement that was bubbling in his chest, the wonder he felt at knowing Aaron loved him too.

“I do,” Aaron confirmed, kissing him gently, the gesture feeling like a promise of so much more to come. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Robert echoed, holding Aaron close. It felt so right, saying it for the first time in the place he’d first seen Aaron, the first place they’d kissed.

It felt absolutely perfect.

 

 

 

 

**ii. thank you for believing in me.**

Robert knew he’d been an arsehole, that morning. Aaron had stayed at his the previous night, sleepy and soft and gorgeously encouraging that morning as Robert had gotten up, gotten dressed for his interview.

He hadn’t meant to lose it, he really hadn’t.

Robert was just worried.

He’d gotten an interview, for a sales position within a big machinery company based out of Manchester. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do with his life, but it was a better job than pulling pints, and he was stressed to the hilt about the interview.

He just didn’t fancy explaining why he’d lost his big, important job with White Industries, and knew that would be the first thing they’d ask him, wonder why Robert had gone from being top dog with Lawrence White, to working evening shifts at the Kings Arms.

So he’d snapped.

He’d yelled at Aaron, told him to back off when all his boyfriend had done was wish him luck, told him he knew that Robert would smash it. Robert had told him to fuck off, to stop pressuring him, and he’d stormed out of the flat in such a rage, he’d forgotten his wallet.

Robert _really_ had some apologising to do.

“What can I get you?” Aaron didn’t even look up, making another coffee as he spoke. He looked frazzled, Robert having had arrived at the tail end of the lunchtime rush.

“A flat white, please,” Robert said, his voice quiet.

Aaron’s head snapped up, looking at Robert with his brow furrowed. “You’re lucky I don’t chuck this at you,” he muttered, his focus on the coffee again as he meticulously poured the milk, doing his usual of making a neat little flower in the foam.

Robert waited until the other customer had walked away to speak. “I’m sorry,” he said, sincere. “I was stressed out this morning, but it’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have bit your head off the way I did.”

Aaron folded his arms across his chest, giving a slight nod. “Okay,” he shrugged.

“Yeah?”

“I get it, you know,” Aaron said. “I know how it feels to be stuck in a job that drives you mad. You’re just luckier than I am, you’ve got a way out of the pub - all I know how to do is make coffee.”

Robert ducked his head, feeling slightly ashamed of himself. He knew, how much Aaron was frustrated with his job, frustrated at the going nowhere, the constant stream of rude customers. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“I know you are, Robert, but I’m just telling ya how I feel,” Aaron said, clattering around some mugs, grabbing some fresh milk.

“Okay.”

They didn’t fight a lot, the two of them. They sniped at each other, got annoyed with each other - but this, this felt like a proper argument, their first significant fight.

“How did the interview go?” Aaron inquired, flat white cup in hand.

Robert leaned against the counter, giving him a relived smile. “It went great,” he admitted. “They offered me the job on the spot.”

Aaron’s face lit up, hands paused mid-making coffee. “Robert, that’s amazing!” he grinned, looking so genuinely delighted that he’d gotten the job, looked happier than Robert even felt.

“I’ll be making a lot more money,” Robert said, thinking of the contract he'd been handed. It was a damn sight more than what he was earning pulling pints six out of seven days a week, and Robert had felt the most ridiculous excitement at the prospect of donning a suit and joining the ranks of office workers again. “We could even go on a weekend away, you and me.”

Aaron set Robert’s coffee down in front of him, imeadiately making a second for himself. “A weekend would be good,” he nodded, bustling around behind the counter, setting a chocolate brownie down in front of Robert. “We’ve got to celebrate you rejoining the working world, first.”

Robert wanted to jump across the counter and snog the life out of Aaron, feeling a million times more at ease than he had a few minutes previously. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

Aaron raised an eyebrow, coming around to the front of the counter, nudging Robert toward a free table. One of the new part time baristas Robert didn’t know took over behind the till, serving customers with an easy smile. “What for?” he asked, sliding into one of the rickety wooden chairs.

“For believing in me,” Robert said, thinking back to the evenings filled with self doubt he’d put down as he prepared for the interview, Aaron always his steadfast encourager.

The coffee was as good as it always was, as Robert lifted his mug to his lips. Aaron might not have loved his job, but _God_ , was he good at it.

Aaron grinned, reaching out and taking far more than half of the brownie. “Someones got to, eh?”

 

 

 

 

**iii. will you move in with me?**

Robert was officially part of the lunchtime rush at the Grind again. He was wearing a new navy suit ( _bought with his first pay check from the company_ ) an expensive material and a flattering cut, a dusky pink tie finishing off his outfit.

He was glad, he was only working a couple of streets away from the Grind. Robert had gone for lunch a couple of times, with his new co-workers, but it was worth giving up the usual burrito run and taking on the ten minute walk to go and see Aaron.

They spent a lot of time together, him and Aaron.

Glued at the hip, Victoria had said.

It was easy, to spend time with him, that was the first thing Robert had noticed. Aaron was easy to talk to, easy to be with, easy to _love_. For months, Robert had spent an hour or so in the Grind before his shift at the pub would start, and he missed that part of his daily routine.

“Flat white?”

Robert nodded, giving the part-timer who’s name he didn’t know a polite nod. He could see Aaron, down the far end of the counter, making coffee like an absolute whirlwind.

He paid for his coffee, moving down the queue, catching Aaron’s eye.

“Alright, office minion,” Aaron greeted with a smirk, glancing at the cup in hand to see what the order was. “Hows work?”

“Busy,” Robert nodded, hands in pockets as he stood, watching Aaron work. Even now, months down the line, watching Aaron work was a novelty. “You?”

“Every mums club in Manchester was in this morning,” Aaron said, his curls coming unstuck from the usual gel helmet, curls flat against his forehead. For someone who claimed to hate all that nonsense, Aaron pulled off the vaguely hipster barista look _very_ well.

Robert wasn’t sure he’d ever been this in love before.

He’d loved, sure. He’d loved Chrissie, loved her so much for so long until he _hadn’t_ , and he just couldn’t imagine ever not loving Aaron.

 _Seeing_ him, _being_ with him, it was the highlight of every single day.

Aaron passed over his flat white, his fingers warm, and electric against Robert’s hand as they brushed. “Do you fancy dinner tonight?” he asked, causal as anything. “I finish at five.”

“Move in with me.” Robert blurted out, not wanting to imagine another day where Aaron wasn’t part of every inch, every aspect of his life, down to Aaron’s socks in the chest of drawers next to his, Aaron’s keys hanging by the door, that ridiculous snooker ball keyring cluttering up his flat.

Aaron looked at him as though he’d lost his mind. “Robert, I’m working!”

“I don’t care,” Robert shook his head, honestly not caring just how busy it was, how many people were staring at him as he spoke. “Move in with me.”

“Aaron, the till’s gone funny again!”

Aaron gave him an apologetic look. “We can talk about this later, yeah?” he said, moving so he was helping Amy (Amanda? Amelia?) with the till, the younger barista looking panicked.

Robert wasn’t deterred. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s a ‘I’m working’, Robert,” Aaron shook his head, laughing as he worked on the till.

Robert leaned against the counter, not caring that he was getting in the way of other customers. “I’m not leaving until you give me a proper answer,”

Aaron rolled his eyes, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Robert’s lips. “It’s a yes, you idiot,” he replied. “Now go away and let me work.”

 

 

 

 

**iv. marry me.**

“No, Robert - you’re doing it wrong!”

“You’re not showing me properly!” Robert replied, fumbling with the coffee machine. It was late, on a Sunday evening, Aaron having been landed with the closing shift. It was a little after six, the November evening already pitch black outside.

Robert had gotten bored, back at their flat (theirs, that still felt so new, so amazing, even after close to six months living together in a home that was **_theirs_** ) and so he’d come down to the Grind, intending on helping Aaron to clean up, and get him home quicker.

It had been dead quiet, when Robert had arrived, and so Aaron had decided it was the perfect time to try and teach Robert how to make a proper cup of coffee. Robert’s Nespresso machine had been gathering dust, since Aaron had moved in, reams of coffee paraphernalia in hand.

“Here, you need to hold the cup at **this** angle,” Aaron directed, moving Robert’s hands. “And then you pour the milk - no, not that quickly, you’re going to ruin it!”

Robert looked at the foamy mess sitting in the cup, snorting. “I think I’ll leave the coffee making to you,” he admitted, looking at the perfectly neat tree that sat atop Aaron’s coffee.

“I think thats best,” Aaron laughed, snaking his arms around Robert’s waist. “Thanks for coming down, I was bored out of my mind.”

Robert tugged him close, revelling in the warm weight of Aaron’s body against his own. “I missed you,” he shrugged. “Flat is too quiet without you.”

“The downsides of me working weekends,” Aaron shrugged, pressing a kiss to Robert’s lips, the embrace lingering for a few seconds before he spoke again. “You look deep in thought,” he commented, pressing a thumb to Robert’s furrowed brow. “Penny for them?”

Aaron always knew exactly how to make Robert talk, spill his secrets and dreams. He had done from that first time they’d had lunch together, able to see right through Robert from day one.

“I’m thinking about how glad I am, that I found this coffee shop,” Robert admitted, glancing around the familiar interior of the Grind. It was over a year ago now, closer to eighteen months than twelve, that he’d met Aaron.

His life had changed so completely since then.

“Because we do the best brownies?” Aaron joked, jerking his head toward the now mostly empty bakery cabinet.

“Because I met you,” Robert said quietly, brushing a thumb across Aaron’s cheekbone. “I don’t want to imagine a life without you, Aaron.”

“You don’t have to,” Aaron replied, the two of them swaying gently on the spot, wrapped up in their own little world, just like they always seemed to be, when it was just the two of them.

They _worked_ , in a way that just made sense.

Being with Aaron made more sense than anything in his life ever had.

“Will you marry me?” Robert asked, the question falling from his lips as easily as I love you did now, like it was second nature to him. He’d been nervous, asking Chrissie, but this?

This was right. This was exactly where he should be, who he should be asking to marry him.

“You mean that?” Aaron looked at him, his eyes wide with shock.

Robert nodded. “I want to be with you, for the rest of my life Aaron,” he said, more confident in his own words now. “I don’t - I don’t have a ring, but I’ll get one. I’ll even go down on one knee, if it means you’ll say yes!”

Aaron laughed, refusing to let go of Robert so he could get down on one knee. “Yes,” he said, his tone one of complete wonder, as though he’d never expected this to be a question he’d be answering. “Yes, Robert, I’ll marry you.”

Robert wanted to laugh, and shout from the rooftops about how amazing this was, about how this _incredible_ man had just agreed to marry him, but he settled for kissing Aaron for all he was worth.

Eighteen months ago, he’d stepped into the Grind for a cup of coffee, and he’d met the love of his life.

Funny, how it all worked out in ways you least expected it to.

 

 

 

 

 

**v. i’ll miss it here.**

Robert caught the sad expression on Aaron’s face before he hid it, knowing exactly what was going through his husband’s mind.

Husband.

That was a new one.

“Hey, talk to me,” Robert nudged, wrapping an arm around Aaron’s shoulder, tucking his chin into the space between Aaron’s shoulder and neck. “What’s up?”

“This place has been such a massive part of my life for so long,” Aaron said quietly, leaning back into Robert’s arms, his brand new wedding ring glinting in the dusky evening sunlight.

“Mm,” Robert didn’t push, waiting for Aaron to gather his thoughts. It was his last day, at the Grind, after three years working there, and Robert knew he must feel a bit odd, feel a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of leaving.

“I’ll miss it here,” Aaron admitted, glancing around the coffee shop one last time. “I’ll miss it.”

“We’ll come back and visit,” Robert joked, Aaron rolling his eyes in response. “You’re allowed to miss it. But onto bigger and better things, eh?”

Aaron nodded, clearly thinking of the new house they’d just bought on the outskirts of Manchester, the new business he was starting with Robert at the helm, a garage with Sugden-Dingle emblazoned across the front.

“Bigger and better,” Robert reassured, an ache in his chest as he realise they were leaving behind such a massive part of their lives, the place they’d met, the place they’d fallen in love.

If what was to come was better?

Well, Robert knew it was going to be one very happy, slightly coffee scented, ever after.

 

 

 

 

 

**fin**


End file.
